How should galleries format exhibition captions?

Use a fixed tombstone order: artist, title, year, medium, dimensions, then courtesy line. Keep that order identical on walls, social posts, and press images.

Should Instagram captions match wall labels?

Yes for the identifying facts. You can drop interpretive wall text on social, but artist, title, date, medium, and courtesy line should match the wall.

What courtesy line should a gallery use?

Typically “Courtesy of [Gallery Name], [City].” Use collection or loan credit when those apply instead.

When should galleries caption exhibition photos?

Before the images circulate. Caption opening and install photos before posting or sending them to press so credit cannot be separated from the image.

Guides/Article

Exhibition Labels for Galleries: Consistent Captions Across Shows, Social, and Press

8 min read · Updated September 12, 2026

Galleries live in three channels at once: the wall, the feed, and the press kit. When captions differ across those channels — wrong year on Instagram, missing courtesy line in a JPEG, inconsistent title spelling on the wall — the show looks less careful than the hang.

This guide gives galleries a simple caption system that stays identical from install to social to press. For wall-label structure, see How to Write an Exhibition Wall Label. For why credit must travel with images online, see Why Every Artwork Photo Needs a Caption Online.

One caption, three destinations

Treat the tombstone as a single source of truth. Write it once per artwork, then reuse it everywhere with only light adaptations for length.

Wall: tombstone + optional short interpretive line
Social: same tombstone under the image (and in the caption field)
Press / website: same tombstone, plus courtesy and contact if needed

The gallery tombstone template

Keep field order fixed for the whole exhibition. Consistency is what makes a small gallery read as professional as a museum corridor.

Artist Name
Title of the Work, Year
Medium; dimensions
Courtesy of Gallery Name, City

Optional on wall only
One short interpretive sentence when the show needs it

Credit lines galleries should not skip

Courtesy lines protect relationships. They tell collectors and press who is presenting the work and how to inquire. Leaving them off social crops is how “seen online” replaces your gallery name.

Courtesy of [Gallery], [City]
Collection of… / Private collection (when required)
Lent by… (for loans)
Available / Sold / NFS — only if your gallery policy allows posting status

A workflow that survives install week

Build the caption list before the hang, not after the opening photos. Export one sheet (or doc) with every work’s final tombstone. Install labels, social assets, and press images should all copy from that list.

Lock titles and spellings with the artist before print day
Generate wall labels and social caption blocks from the same rows
Caption opening-night photos before they leave the gallery phone
Send press a folder of images that already include the caption under the work

Wall vs Instagram: same facts, different length

Do not invent a second set of titles for the feed. Shorten interpretive text if needed; never change artist, title, year, or medium between channels.

Wall (object label)
Maya Chen
Night Market, 2024
Oil on linen; 100 × 80 cm
Courtesy of North Gallery, Berlin
Chen paints street stalls from memory, letting color and crop carry the sense of recall.

Social (under image)
Maya Chen
Night Market, 2024
Oil on linen; 100 × 80 cm
Courtesy of North Gallery, Berlin

Common gallery caption failures

These are the mistakes that show up most in post-opening audits:

Beautiful install photos with no credit on the image
Courtesy line in the Instagram text only — lost in screenshots
Title spelling that differs between wall label and website
Press receiving uncaptioned JPEGs and inventing their own credits
Rewriting captions from memory at 11pm before a Stories post

Keep every channel consistent with ArtCaption

When you need the tombstone under the artwork image — for walls docs, Instagram, or press — drop the photo into ArtCaption, fill the fields from your master list, and export a clean museum-style caption. Processing stays private in the browser, with no upload to our servers.

Maya Chen Night Market painting with a consistent museum caption for wall, social, and press use — Maya Chen, Night Market — one caption block reused across show documentation, social, and press. Made with ArtCaption.

FAQ

How should galleries format exhibition captions?: Use a fixed tombstone order: artist, title, year, medium, dimensions, then courtesy line. Keep that order identical on walls, social posts, and press images.
Should Instagram captions match wall labels?: Yes for the identifying facts. You can drop interpretive wall text on social, but artist, title, date, medium, and courtesy line should match the wall.
What courtesy line should a gallery use?: Typically “Courtesy of [Gallery Name], [City].” Use collection or loan credit when those apply instead.
When should galleries caption exhibition photos?: Before the images circulate. Caption opening and install photos before posting or sending them to press so credit cannot be separated from the image.

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